Meet the Devs

Transcript

JP – ‘Cause it’s like the best colour ever… and like… these guys are idiots [pointing off screen]. Your shoes are great, but the shirt is where it’s at.

Meet the Devs: Kirk Tome

JP – Hey everybody! Welcome to Meet the Devs. I’m James Pugh. This is Kirk Tome. Kirk, how you doin?

KT – Terrific.

JP – Thanks for coming on! So, why don’t we just get right into it. How did you get started with Star Citizen?

KT – Uhm, actually I had heard about the Kickstarter but really didn’t follow the development cycle of Star Citizen until I found out that my former colleague and friend Calix Reneau was working here. I asked him about the possibility of joining the studio and that’s kind of how everything started.

JP – You’re the first person in the history of the world to call Calix a friend, by the way.

KT – Oh… Is that true?

JP – [Laughing] I’m pretty sure… take that Calix. So, how did you get started in the gaming industry?

KT – I’ve been making games for over 22 years.

JP – Wow!

KT – Actually, funny story… prior to starting at my first game company which was Interplay, I was selling games at a company called ? AGAT Software ? [Not sure about the company name]. One of the games we sold was Star Commander. We sold a lot of copies of Star Commander. And then finding out that one of the games that Interplay made out of this world, it was difficult to finish, I actually called up their BBS – this is how how long ago this was – and found hints to finish the game on Interplay’s BBS. At the same time there was an ad for joining the studio as a customer service representative. Did that. Went through a kind of standard path for designers, which is going through QA, head of QA, and then beginning design. Yeah… that was in 1993.

JP – 1993?

KT – Yup.

JP – Wow. I was 5 years old. You were on top of the world.

KT – That is great to hear…

JP – [Laughs] So, what about Star Citizen interests you the most?

KT – What’s really awesome about Star Citizen is that we’re able to make for the community a world in which, out of nothing, we create this experience that is exciting enough for people to want to log in to every day. Based on your feedback, we are able to make a virtual in which I would be excited to join, meet my friends, have encounters. Right now we’re small, but we’re expanding and making it larger and larger and eventually it will be something that you can just into and experience as almost like a secondary life.

JP – So, is that what you want Star Citizen to be?

KT – Absolutely.

JP – You want Star Citizen to be this expansive universe that you want to be a part of?

KT – I want it to be an experience in which… you can make it your own. As common as cars are now, I’d love for you to know what it’s like to own several spaceships in your space home, meeting your space friends, having space parties. This is great. It’s really a way to give the players an experience they’ve only imagined before, but now can experience for real.

JP – I want space friends.

Disco Lando [I think] – Space friends confirmed!

JP – How do I get space friends?

JP – Alright… I’m going to ask you some rapid-fire questions. Are you ready?

KT – Okay.

JP – Question 1: Favourite movie?

KT – Akira

JP – Never seen it. Favourite video game?

KT – Street Fighter.

JP – Which one?

KT – III, second strike.

JP – What?!

KT – Sorry.

JP – Eh… it’s fine.

KT – I love parity.

JP – Yeah, but third strike is way better.

KT – Eh… it’s a little too fast for me.

JP – It’s too fast, is that it?

KT – I think so, yeah.

JP – Because like… the difference between second strike and third strike is so minimal to me. I don’t know…

KT – It is, but the speed is kind of a biggie… I mean, three is really good too.

JP – It is, yeah… who’s your main?

KT – Actually… I just play Ken a lot.

JP – Ken? Psht… Hugo bro.

KT – Interesting… Old school, I’d be Zangeif.

JP – Yeah, Hugo is… once you get used to him he’s… he’s actually way quicker than you think he would be.

KT – Yeah because his animations… I mean, he’s really lanky but his animations are really fast, yeah.

JP – Keep all of that in by the way. Last question: What’s your favourite stip?… *confused*… uh… leave that in too. Leave all this in. This is good. Everyone watch this! Favourite ship in Star Citizen?

KT – My favourite ship is probably the Super Hornet.

JP – Why?

KT – It’s… kind of OP.

[“That’s a CONCERN thread…” pops up in bold yellow text.]

JP – Really?

KT – Yeah, it’s very maneuverable, it’s really tough, it has great armament. Second favourite ship is probably the Gladiator, only because I took it from its kind of baby steps to flight ready and working on that as my first ship from start to finish is an experience I’ll never forget.

JP – Nice! Well, thanks for joining us again! I’m James Pugh, this is Kirk Tome. He’s a Dev… and you know him.